F1 UniONE CAREER S2 (2015 Season)
2014 Season [S1:] 2016 Season [S3] Overview Season Two of the F1 UniONE Career was contested between 10 teams, using the F1 2015 game. Teams & Drivers The following teams and drivers participated in the 2015 season. Reserve Drivers; * Tirowee moved teams to BMW Williams at the close of the 11th race, therefore taking himself out of the Mercedes Young Driver programme. Regulation Changes For the second season in succession, there was yet another change to the points scoring system. From this season onwards, the top 12 classified finishers will now score points. To be a classified finisher, the driver must retire within the final 3 laps of the race. Pirelli has also made the tyre compounds softer for this season, meaning higher rates of degradation. Top 12 Points System Pre-Season Testing Driver Transfers Mercedes AMG Petronas - Mercedes keep on defending World Champion, Nico Rosberg, as well as signing Valtteri Bottas from Williams. BMW Williams Martini - Williams name an all new driver line up of Sebastien Buemi and Jenson Button. Button looking to end his F1 career where it began, at Williams in 2000. Williams were impressed with Buemi's performances at the end of the 2014 Season, which included a 3rd place finish at Brazil. Infiniti Red Bull Racing - Red Bull keep on Daniel Ricciardo for another season, and promote Jean-Eric Vergne, after impressing last season, with over double the amount of points of his team mate. Scuderia Ferrari - Ferrari were looking to bounce back after a dismal 2014 campaign, with four-time World Driver's Champion Sebastian Vettel and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton leading the charge. Hamilton moving from Mercedes as he felt the team were favouring Rosberg, leading to him winning the Championship by 1 point. Sahara Force India - After their most successful season ever in F1, which included one race victory, the team name an unchanged driver line up of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. McLaren-Honda - McLaren reunite the old 'partnership' of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. However Ron Dennis has stated that both drivers will have equal status within the team. Manor Marussia F1 Team - Manor were hopeful of keeping on their sensational driver, Josh Tirowee, however in his and Chilton absence, Manor name two new drivers. Young (and short) Brit, Will Stevens, and American, Alex Rossi. Scuderia Toro Rosso - It was no secret that Max Verstappen would partner Daniil Kvyat this coming season, with the team expecting higher than 8th in the Constructor's. Sauber F1 Team - Marcus Ericsson partners Adrian Sutil, as Caterham folded at the close of 2014. Lotus F1 Team - Lotus capture the signing of Josh Tirowee. This alone gave the team hope of points this season. Team Performances Scuderia Ferrari - With their all-star driver line up, Ferrari look to have closed the gap to Mercedes, and even surpassed them as the team to beat. Mercedes AMG Petronas - Mercedes looked a bit shaky throughout pre-season testing, with the car showing promise of pace, however tyre wear seems to be a huge issue for the team. Bottas also looks to be struggling to get up to speed with his new team mate. BMW Williams Martini - BMW make a shock return to F1, and power the Williams team for the first time since 2005. The team were expecting 3rd or better in the Constructor's, and to take a race victory this season. Much like in the early 2000s, the BMW power unit looks to be unbeatable in pure power, but the Williams lacks overall downforce to make the most of their power advantage. Infiniti Red Bull Racing - Red Bull look to have got their car design all wrong this season. To compound the team's misery further, the Renault power unit once again looks to be inferior to Ferrari, Mercedes and BMW. Lotus F1 Team - After a pointless 2014 campaign, Lotus sign a 1 year deal with Mercedes, and the car was all but transformed. Josh Tirowee was even talking of taking the fight to Red Bull in the early stage of the season, whilst they try to work out where they are lacking pace. Scuderia Toro Rosso - After slipping to 8th in the Constructor's last season, changes were needed at Red Bull's junior team. They were hoping that Max Verstappen would be the change the team needed, along with improved aerodynamics. Sahara Force India - Force India have clearly worked a lot on their aerodynamics over the winter, with their average corner speeds much higher than last year, however both Lotus' and Toro Rosso's aero packages look to be stronger. Sauber F1 Team - After a difficult 2014 season, Sauber put Ericsson's money to good use, with a much improved aerodynamic package. However, Sauber have designed their car to be low drag, to maximise speed on the straights, at a compromise to corner speeds. McLaren-Honda - The 'McHonda' partnership may have been legendary in the '80's, but Honda may have just turned their legacy into a joke with their abysmal power unit, (which can't even manage 200mph). Manor Marussia F1 Team - Despite Josh Tirowee elevating the team to 7th in the Constructor's last season, there wasn't enough financial backing for the team to afford the new Ferrari power units. Because of this, they're forced to continue using the farcical 2014 Ferrari 059/3. This, and an overall lack of aero on the car, makes their two cars over 1 second a lap slower than the McLarens. Season Calendar After fans labelled the Abu Dhabi GP 'The dullest Grand Prix ever created', it was removed from the calendar for the foreseeable future. Mexico also returned to the caladar, for the first time since 1992. Mid-Season Driver Transfers Round 7, Canada: Massa & Vandoorne, Grosjean & Jorda - Following Massa's high speed collision with Rosberg, Massa was forced to sit out the remainder of the season, until the final race at Brazil, which was to be his final race in F1. Romain Grosjean was replaced after causing the highly controversial collision between himself, and team mate Josh Tirowee. His replacement was Lotus' third driver, and fan favourite, Carmen Jorda. Round 9, Austria: Ricciardo & Kvyat - After continued poor performances, Daniel Ricciardo was demoted back to Toro Rosso. Daniil Kvyat took his seat, after an impressive start to the season. Which included a third place finish at the season opener. Round 12, Italy: Button, Tirowee & Kral - After unbelievable bad luck, and poor reliability from his BMW Williams, Jenson Button decided to call it quits after Round 11, in which he suffered a gear box failure. Williams then approached Josh Tirowee to fill the vacant seat. Tirowee accepted the offer, which then meant Lotus had to go looking for a replacement driver. In the end, they signed Josef Kral, who returned to F1 for the first time after testing for HRT in 2010. Round 13, Singapore: Ricciardo & Sainz - With his season only getting worse, Daniel Ricciardo now lost his Toro Rosso seat, after causing high speed collisions with Vandoorne at Austria and Verstappen at Italy. His replacement was to be Red Bull's next young prospect, Carlos Sainz. Round 16, USA: Vergne & Verstappen: After Vergne caused a high speed crash involving Josh Tirowee and Sebastian Buemi at Bahrain, it was decided he was to be demoted back to Toro Rosso for one race. Originally, the plan was for Kvyat to take the one race for Red Bull, but since he replaced Ricciardo full time at Round 9, Verstappen would get his chance to race at the front of the grid. Verstappen chose the US Grand Prix, due to the success Red Bull have had at the Circuit of the Americas. Race Results Championship Results Click on the table to enlarge it. Key: * Gold - Race Winner * Silver - Second Place * Bronze - Third Place * Turquoise - Points Finish (4th - 12th) * Blue - Classified finish outside of the points paying positions * Purple - Did Not Finish * 'DNF '- Driver did not finish, but was still classified, as they retired within the final 3 laps * Black - Disqualified * Red - Driver competed in the race, but for a different Team. * Blank/ white - Driver did not participate in the race. *